Pages

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Everything Asparagus

Recently I received this email from June in Wisconsin. I have gotten several emails about asparagus recently and wanted to just touch base on growing asparagus........

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge in your farm. What a blessing to me! Would you please explain, burn the aspuargus old plant when they are done every year, in order to prevent it from disease (My husband and I just plant it last year, 10 plant). Would you please teach more detail on how to hatch chick, how kind of tool will need and setting and how. 3yr ago we bought some layer and 1 rooster but the rooster didn't live through.Thank you for taking your time to help.Happy Mother's day to youJune in Wisconsin

June thank you for the Mother's Day greeting and I will try to answer some of your questions.

The first thing every spring this is what my asparagus bed looks like. This bed is almost 16 years old and still producing. As soon as the weather starts warming usually about turkey season every year you will see the spears begin to emerge. I do not cover my bed in winter. Once the sprouts emerge I cut everything LARGER THAN A PENCIL. I recommend that if you are starting a new bed don't cut it for two years. I never cut my asparagus past the first week of June. After that I simply let my asparagus come up and the fronds develop.

At this time I weed the beds and apply rabbit manure every year. Asparagus are heavy feeders.

I string a string and use a shovel and edge the bed to keep the grass back and have a clean edge for mowing. you can add a thin layer of straw as mulch at this time if you want just not too deep so as not to rot the crowns.

As the season progresses the plants will bloom. ( The female plants)

The blooms will become berries

The berries will ripen. The birds love them and when they eat them then I get small asparagus coming up where ever the birds poop. That is why you see them along fence lines, under trees and bushes. Anywhere the birds roost and poop. I get lots of them around my bird bath.

Then comes frost. The fronds turn brown like everything else in the landscape. The sap goes down to the root and the top of the plant dies. That is when in winter or very early spring you can chop those fronds down, mow them down with the mower or even burn them off. That destroys any overwintering asparagus beetles that may be hiding in the foliage or any dormant overwintering diseases. Burn or dispose of the dead fronds and start all over the next year. I have managed to keep my asparagus patches thriving for almost two decades like this.

Once your fronds are picked they can be frozen or canned.

Hope this helps answer any asparagus questions and good luck with your patch June. My next post will be on incubators and hatching eggs so check back tomorrow June for the rest of your answers. Check on the canning page above for recipes on canning and freezing asparagus.

39 comments:

Thank you for this! I just planted asparagus last year so this year is an admiring year- not a harvesting year. I am excited to see them pop up and happy to have your tricks of trade in my back pocket!

I wonder- how many crowns do you have to get such hearty crops? I put in about 15 (can't really remember) but as I watch them pop up- I doubt very seriously that will be enough for the six of us and putting up. Just curious how many I would need in your opinion. I do as much canning/freezing as possible through the winter...so I am not afraid of too much. Just afraid of 'not enough'. Thanks!

Rebecca we probably have 60 to 70 crowns in 2 beds. One bed is larger than the other but both are very established beds over a decade old. The older the plant the more heads it will produce. I think the trick is not to crowd the crown . We allowed plenty of room between each plant and have never had to thin our beds. It probably took about 4 years for our bed to really come into full production.

In 2011 you wrote about dehydrating asparagus. I just found that post and was wondering how the asparagus was when re-hydrated. I have a dehydrator, and a VERY generous neighbor, and would like to dehydrate it, if it does work well.

I am so impressed and inspired by what I see in your blog. The work you and your "better-half" accomplish just astounds me. I've learned so much and wish I were in a position to live the lifestyle your enjoying. It was a dream of mine, once..but life got in the way. hahaha. At 53 with chronic illnesses that impede my activity - I have the pleasure of enjoying said life through reading of others. Your blog helps. Asparagus is one of my fave vegetables and I have always believed it may be too much effort. I have a feeling my son-in-law is going to be planting some for me soon... I'll tell him later. LOL Keep sharing Please! An avid watcher from Oshawa, Ontario, Canada.

My well-established asparagus bed has provided us plenty for about 7 or 8 years. I've read that large/fat spears are a sign that the crowns should be split. How and when is the best time to do this? (I'm in Kansas so we're heading into the hot months) Also, I've been reading that curling spears is a sign of pests, but I see no bites or other sign of bugs? I don't have many that curl but I'd like to fix this problem too. Thanks for any info you can give me.

I used to really enjoy our asparagus when we lived up north but here in Florida it's very marginal and just not worth it. Fortunately, we discovered that the wild smilax shoots that grow all over the woods in spring are an excellent alternative food... and all the work we have is just in the gathering. I remember weeding those asparagus beds...

Another question for you today (tell me if you ever get sick of me asking you questions...) but this one is about tomatoes:

What do you consider to be the best way to support tomatoes? Do you use cages, trellises, twine? I consistently have trouble with this as my supports always work until the plants grow ginormous and then the plants fall and some tomatoes end up on the ground. Because food prices are going up so quickly I want to be sure to get every last bit that I can from my 100 plants. Thanks!

I have another general garden question for you, as well. Within each of your gardens, how often do you rotate your crop types? Do you have a certain pattern that you follow year to year? By the way...I cannot begin to tell you how improved our garden soil is this year! After heaping leaves, clean grass clippings, some old rotted hay, and LOTS of ashes during the winter months, our heavy red-clay soil is much more crumbly and shows a richer color. Thank you for all that you share!!

Feel free to challenge me, disagree with me, or tell me I’m completely nuts in the comments section of each blog entry, but I reserve the right to delete any comment for any reason whatsoever (abusive, profane, rude, or anonymous comments) – so keep it polite, please. Also I am not a free advertisement board if you want to push a product on my comments I will delete you fast !!!

About Me

I'm a die hard southern girl born in the mountains of north Georgia and raised on a farm in southeastern Louisiana. He's a smooth talking "Yankee" born and raised here on this prairie. Here we are on the midwest farmstead that we call Hickery Holler.The day to day joys and sorrows of living simply,growing a garden,quilting, canning and living off the beaten path. The memories of my southern roots and his northern ones and making new memories of our lives together.

Total Pageviews

This is a personal web blog. The views expressed on these pages are mine alone. If I say something stupid in the future, it is better to be able to point out that the stupidity is mine. While every caution has been taken to provide my readers with most accurate information and honest analysis, please use your discretion before taking any decisions based on the information in this blog. Author will not compensate you in any way whatsoever if you ever happen to suffer a loss/inconvenience/damage because of/while making use of information in this blog.

All content provided on this blog is for informational purposes only. The owner of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site. The owner will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information nor for the availability of this information. The owner will not be liable for any losses, injuries, or damages from the display or use of this information. These terms and conditions of use are subject to change at anytime and without notice.